


Walpurgisnacht

by asamandra



Series: Crossovers [6]
Category: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton Is Hansel, F/M, M/M, and he has a sister, he's older than he looks, she needs his help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 13:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1552454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asamandra/pseuds/asamandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Walpurgisnacht, the night from 30 April to 1 May, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the Brocken... and there'll be many of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve put his shield down and placed his hands on his knees, heavily panting. He lifted his eyes and looked around. It had been a hard fight but luckily there wasn't too much damage in the city. But it was sure that they had to clean away lots of dead aliens. He saw Tony land beside the ambulance and drop off Clint. He had been on a roof and apparently he had a few scratches. 

He just went over to them and saw Bruce and Natasha arrive as well. Thor was still in the air. But when the EMT left the ambulance to look after their injuries he saw something unexpected: Clint paled. 

“What are you doing here?” Clint hissed. Apparently she didn't know that Steve had enhanced hearing.

“It's April, the 28th. What do you think?” They both knew each other.

“I've told you I'm out. I don't do this anymore.” Clint shook his head, turned and wanted to walk away.

“Hän...” the woman held his arm but Clint looked at her, one finger raised.

“No. I'm not that guy anymore.” 

“Dammit, I need your help. It's important.” She hissed and Clint wanted to leave.

“Is everything okay, Clint?” Steve asked, stopped beside him and placed a hand protectively on his shoulder. The woman raised a brow. 

“Ach, das ist der Grund.” She cocked her head and smirked evilly.

“Ich habe mir hier ein neues Leben aufgebaut. Ich bin durch mit dem ganzen Scheiß und das habe ich dir gesagt.” He snarled and nodded at Steve.

“Hän...” 

“Das ist nicht mehr mein Name, verdammt.” 

“Clint, are you okay?” Steve asked again and the archer nodded and turned.

“ _Clint_ , please. I need your help.” Tony and Natasha realized that something went on and came to them as well.

“Is everything okay?” Natasha asked and Clint nodded. 

“No, everything is not okay. I need his help and...” the woman said and now Natasha raised her brow.

“And who are you?” she asked and Clint shook his head, took Natasha's arm and wanted to shove her away. 

“Leave it be, please, Nat.” 

“They don't know?” the woman stared at him, disbelievingly. “You haven't told them?” 

“What do we not know?” Tony asked and looked at Clint now. 

“No, I haven't told...” 

“Clint, what do we not now,” Steve asked now and this time he cast his eyes down. 

“ _Clint_ , it's really important. In two nights it's happening again.”

“All right. I suggest we relocate this meeting to my tower.” 

“Yeah, that's a good idea.” Clint nodded and finally the woman huffed.

“Okay.” She nodded.

“And who are you?” Steve asked now and she smiled.

“Gretel. My name is Gretel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Ach, das ist der Grund. - So, that's the reason.  
> Ich habe mir hier ein neues Leben aufgebaut. Ich bin durch mit dem ganzen Scheiß und das habe ich dir gesagt. - I've turned over a new leaf. I'm through with all this shit and I've told you.  
> Das ist nicht mehr mein Name, verdammt. - That's not my name anymore, dammit.


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay, lady. Who are you?” Tony didn't waste time with small talk. As soon as all of them sat around the table in the tower's conference room he leaned back and asked. 

“I've told you, my name is Gretel.” 

“Yeah, I remember. And what is it that Clint did not tell us?” He raised his brow and looked at both of them, the woman and Clint.

“She's my sister. My twin sister, to be exact.” Clint said and pressed his lips tight together.

“Your... your sister?” Bruce blurted out and Clint nodded. 

“It's... it's more complicated.” He looked at his teammates, at his sister and then at Steve.

“I've wanted to tell you. I just...” he licked his lips when he saw a slight hint of disappointment in Steve's eyes. “It's complicated and...” he stopped again.

“Clint?” Natasha raised a brow but then Steve took his hand. The woman, Gretel, sat there and watched their interaction but she didn't seemed to be averse, quite the contrary. She seemed really pleased about the fact that Clint had friends and a lover.

“Okay. I know you've all seen a lot of shit and you know that there are things out there...” he looked at Thor and then at Bruce and Steve. “My name, the name I've gotten from my parents, is Hänsel. I was born 1746 near Augsburg, Germany. And... you know... she's my twin sister.” 

“Hansel. And Gretel.” Tony looked at him and raised his brows. “Okay, very funny guys. And now...”

“It's true, Tony. The brothers Grimm wrote our story down.”

“You want to tell me.... seriously... that you two,” Tony pointed at Clint and Gretel, “That you two are the two kids from the fairy tale?” He had a broad grin in his face right now.

“Yeah, that's what I want to tell you. And before you start laughing, remember that all of you thought Thor was a figure out of a fairy tale as well.” Clint pointed his finger at Thor and the Asgardian nodded with a smile.

“He has a point, Tony,” Bruce admitted. 

“Wait, wait, wait... do you want to tell me that you're more than two hundred fifty years old?” Natasha glared at Clint. 

“Two hundred sixty six.” Gretel said and when Natasha turned to her she shrugged. “But yes, that's what he wanted to say.” 

“Our mom...” Clint said, “... she was a witch. A white witch. That's why we didn't age a day since our thirtieth birthday.” 

“And we hunt dark witches,” the woman added. 

“ _You_ hunt them. I'm through with it.” Clint shrugged.

“Okay. You are two immortal witch hunters from Germany and... and what?”

“In two days is Walpurgis Night. That means, there are lots of witches celebrating on the Brocken. It's the highest of the Harz Mountains and a legendary place. In the last fifty years there were mostly ordinary people there to... well... celebrate the spectacle and it wasn't more than a fair but it's still a holy place for witches and...” she stopped and pulled a sheet of paper out of her jacket and shoved it over to Clint who reluctantly took it, looked at it for a few seconds and then his head snapped up to his sister. She nodded. 

“Holy crap!” he cursed. 

“Clint?” Steve asked and Clint handed him the paper. “What's that?” he asked and looked at the paper. There were circles and lines and lots and lots of symbols. He looked up to Clint but gave the paper to Natasha who sat beside Steve. 

“It's an astrological chart. According to it there will be a very rare astrological constellation during Walpurgis Night and,” he stopped, sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “it's the perfect moment for them to free their god.”


	3. Chapter 3

“It was really strange, Pep. I mean... I know that we've seen a lot of shit and it became worse since the Chitauri incident but this? He told us that he's over two hundred and fifty years old.” Tony paced and gestured with his hands. “He told us, that his mother was a witch and that the Brothers Grimm of all people wrote down their story!” He went to the bar, poured himself a glass of whiskey, took a sip and started to pace again. “I just could reconcile with the idea of magic and... and stuff. And now this? Witchcraft? I mean... this is ridiculous, Pep!” 

“Is it?” Pepper bit her lower lip and raised one brow. “A year ago you would've said that Thor's existence would be ridiculous as well.” 

“I _know_ that, Pep. But... seriously? Witches?”

“Why not?” Pepper leaned back in her seat and watched Tony pace but now he stopped and stared at her.

“Seriously?” he repeated and Pepper shrugged. “Hansel and Gretel? Are you kidding me?”

“Tony, it's known that most myths have an element of truth. Why shouldn't it be true? And honestly, a two hundred and fifty years old pair of twins hunting witches is by far not the strangest thing I've heard lately.”

“Are you on their side?” Tony stopped his pacing and glared at her but she just smiled, rose and came over to him.

“Come on, you've had a reactor in your chest, Steve is a super soldier and was frozen for seventy years, Bruce changes into a green _rage monster_ when he gets angry and Clint is a witch hunter from the eighteenth century.”

“It doesn't really stand out in the whole context, I have to admit.” He sighed. Pepper took the glass he still held in his hands, placed it on the bar and kissed his nose. “Why are you always doing this?”

“What am I doing?”

“You're kissing my nose.” 

“I like your nose.” Pepper shrugged and smirked and Tony raised her brow.

“You are strange, too,” Tony stated and took his glass. 

“Tony, seriously. I know, a year earlier I would've laughed at the mere idea of witches and aliens and green rage monsters but now? Now it's just...”

“Okay, okay, I understand.” Tony interrupted her, took a long sip of his whiskey and then he looked at Pepper again. “Hansel and Gretel,” he snorted amused. “I still can't believe it.” He put the glass back onto the bar and nodded. “Okay, I'll try to get some work done.” He rose and went to the elevator but refilled his glass on his way and Pepper shook her head disapprovingly.

She waited till Tony was in the car and she saw it descending before she sat up and placed her hands on her knees.

“JARVIS, Agent Barton's sister... is she with him at the moment?” 

“No, Ms. Potts. She's in Agent Barton's apartment while Agent Barton is with Captain Rogers.” 

“Okay.” She rose and went to the elevator herself, waited till the cabin stopped to let Tony out before she called it back. When she arrived on Clint's floor she stopped in front of his door. 

“JARVIS, please warn me when someone else is coming. I want to talk to her alone,” she begged the AI and JARVIS agreed. Then she took a deep breath and knocked at the door.


	4. Chapter 4

“I'm sorry, really. I'm really, really sorry, Steve. How often do I need to repeat it? I'm sorry. I will repeat it till you believe me.” Clint sat at the couch and watched Steve pacing.

“The sad thing is I do believe you, Clint.” He stopped and looked at him before he went back to his routine of walking up and down his living room.

“I know I should've said it.” 

“Yes, you should've.” Steve nodded and swallowed. “Is there anything else I need to know? I mean, despite from you having a twin sister and being immortal and far older than you look?” 

“I'm a diabetic.” Clint said immediately and Steve stopped dead in his tracks and stared at him.

“What?” 

“I'm a diabetic,” Clint repeated and shrugged. “It's... you know the story right? I mean, I know that the Grimm's stories are widely read but do _you_ know the story?”

“Yes... yes, my mom read them to me when I was a boy.” 

“So, it's true that some witches are cannibals. They prefer children because they say it's some purity of the soul bullshit. I think it's because they are...” he took a deep breath, “they are not as tough as an old boot. Fact is, me and Gretel were caught by that witch and she wanted to eat me but I was too skinny and so she forced me to eat candy. Lots and lots of candy. It made me sick.” 

“Seriously, Clint... do I still call you Clint?” 

“Yes, Clint is who I am now. And I _am_ serious. You've asked if there's something I haven't told you and... I'm a diabetic. Oh, and I knew a troll. But he's dead.” 

“I don't know if you're kidding right now or...”

“It's the truth. I swear!” Clint rose, went over to Steve and stopped him. “I promise, I won't ever lie to you again. Everything else about me is the truth. I've just didn't tell you about my age and my origins.” He placed a hand on Steve's arm and he felt tenseness in his body.

“The circus?” Steve asked and pursed his lips. He looked so adorable right now that Clint had to restrain himself to not lean in and just kiss him.

“I've been there. Six years till Trick Shot tried to kill me and left for dead in a back alley,” he said instead.

“But I've thought you can't die?” He was even more adorable when he frowned, Clint had to admit.

“I don't know. It was close a few times. Very close. I don't know if it was just dumb luck or really something our mom did when we were children.” 

“But you don't age.” 

“That's right.” Clint nodded slowly. 

“Barney?” 

“He wasn't my brother but he was there in the circus as well and... and after his death... we made up this story...” 

“We?” Steve raised his brow.

“Yeah. Fury and Hill and Coulson... they know. But they are the only one who knows... well... and you now.” Clint shrugged again and this time Steve went to the couch and sat down. “I needed to keep it under wraps and I guess you understand why I had to do it, right?”

“Yes, I understand that. But...” 

“It was... I became used to never talk about it if not really, absolutely necessary. And believe me, babe, I would've told you. Maybe not now but sooner or later I would've told you.” 

“Do you not trust me?” Steve seemed hurt and now Clint felt bad, really bad. 

“No, god no! Steve, I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else.” 

“Even more than your sister?” Steve asked and looked at Clint with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Especially more than her.” Clint licked his lips. “There was a... there was this incident. That's why I left and she stayed in _family business_.”

“Do I want to know?” Steve cocked his head.

“I'm not sure if you _want_ to know. It's been... 1898... and there was this woman...” 

“No, you... you don't have to, Clint.” He stopped him because he saw that Clint didn't feel comfortable.

“But I want to tell you. I want you to believe me, Steve. I love you and...”

“Do _you_ want to tell me this story?” Steve took Clint's hand and the archer shook his head.

“It's not a nice story. It's... one of _those_ stories.”

“Tell me when you're ready, okay?” He cupped Clint's face and Clint leaned in into the touch.

“Are you going to help your sister?” 

He sighed and then, after a long moment, he nodded. “Yes. It's important. And... and I guess we could need your help as well.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay, what do we have,” Tony asked and looked at his teammates and especially Clint's sister. She nodded and then she rose. 

“In the last years the Walpurgis Night became a... well... a family spectacle with party and concerts and a march through the towns. People go there, dressed up as witches and devils. And there are thousands of people. The perfect setting for _real_ witches. It'll be extremely difficult to find them between all the masqueraded people. And there are children. It's... unfortunately it's a funny spectacle for children and the witches don't need to hunt, they get the children delivered by their families.”

“Thousands of people? Seriously?” Bruce asked and furrowed his brows.

“Last year there were more than twenty thousand people visiting.” Gretel smiled sadly.

“You're kidding, right?” Bruce asked again.

“No, unfortunately not.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, a gesture Steve knew Clint used very often and he had to repress a small smile. “It's... it's like Halloween, like Fasching, Mardi Gras, you know? People go there to have a good time, to party, you know? They don't _realize_ that it was a place where witches _danced_ years ago despite the fact that the Hexentanzplatz still exists.” She looked around at all of them and Bruce and Tony slowly nodded.

“It's our enlightened society,” Clint said. “Nowadays people don't believe in witches. They hear that, in the dark ages, women got accused to be witches and got sentenced to the stake. It's true that a lot of them were innocent victims but not all of them. Some _were_ witches. The inquisition wasn't helpful, not at all.” 

“You'll recognize a witch immediately, a dark witch. They are...” Gretel said when Bruce interrupted her carefully, his hand raised.

“Excuse me, you've just said dark witch. That means an evil one, right? Aren't all witches evil?” He furrowed his brows and Clint shook his head.

“No. There are good ones as well. Fewer but... Our mother was a white witch. That's why we are immune to witchcraft.” He explained.

“But what Loki did...” Thor started and Clint shook his head again.

“... wasn't witchcraft. It was Asgardian magic, Thor. That's a whole new ball game.”

“I understand.” The Asgardian said and leaned back, his arms folded over his chest.

“Okay, dark witches. You all know the witch costumes children wear on Halloween, right? Ugly, deformed women with bad teeth and a hunchback and all this stuff?” 

“Yeah. But they don't look really like that, right?” Tony cocked his head and licked his lips. He seemed still uncomfortable with all this witch stuff.

“No, Tony. It's actually the truth, well, in fact most of them are far uglier. It's the dark witchcraft. It... it does something to their bodies. It's... it's pretty ugly sometimes.” He shuddered slightly when he thought at some of the women he had hunted. “You'll recognize them immediately.”

“The problem in this case is, that there are lots and lots of people dressed up and painted like witches. It could be difficult to identify the true ones,” Gretel threw in. 

“What do they want?” Tony asked and this time Gretel opened the messenger bag she had with her and took an old book. It was parchment, bound in leather and it seemed as if the slightest touch could let it crumble. But when Gretel flipped it open it stayed intact. She skimmed through the pages till she found what she had searched.

“I found this book some years ago. There's a clause about how to free their god when a specific stellar constellation appears on Walpurgis Night. And that... it happens in two days.”

“Their god? Isn't their god the devil?” Bruce asked but Gretel shook her head and smiled at him. Steve saw the scientist blush slightly.

“No, that's what people think and I have to admit there is a certain resemblance but no, the god of the witches is Urianus.”

“Urianus?” Thor asked and cocked his head. “I am not sure but I think I have heard that name before.” 

“We need to know everything about him, Thor.” Clint said and the Asgardian nodded. 

“I will talk to a few people.” 

“Okay, what's in that book?” Tony asked and Gretel shoved it over to him. “That's Latin.” He raised his brow and Natasha rose and looked over his shoulder.

“That's... very detailed.” She said after a few minutes. “But if I read that correctly we need a white witch.” She looked at Clint now.

“Where do we find a white witch?” Steve asked and Clint looked at his sister. When she nodded he turned back. “That's covered.” Gretel nodded as well.

“All right. I guess... I guess we can fly, right?” 

“Right. We'll need a few weapons but...” Clint said but Gretel interrupted him.

“... they are in our depot.” 

“You still have it?” Clint asked astounded.

“Of course I still have it. What do you think?” She folded her arms and glared at him but Clint raised his hands in a defensive gesture. 

“I'll call Fury. We need a quinjet. I'll fly, she explains the plan,” Clint said and rubbed his hands.

“All right,” Steve said and looked around. “Avengers assemble!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Walpurgis Night](http://www.thisisharz.com/walpurgis.html)


	6. Chapter 6

Clint landed the quinjet outside of a small village not far away from the Brocken. The team, Gretel and Pepper – Gretel had asked her to come with them but no one knew why exactly – left the jet, only Steve stayed back. They should check out the situation while Clint and Steve wanted to get the weapons.

As soon as they were alone Clint started again and flew to their depot. Steve watched him suspiciously but he stayed quiet till they landed again, this time on a wood glade near Augsburg.

“Clint, talk to me,” Steve said when they left the aircraft. Clint stopped and then he huffed.

“What do you want me to say, Steve?” He threw his hands in the air and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You've been so quiet since we've talked, you still refuse to talk to your sister alone and now you insist that I accompany you and...

“Well, what can I say, I prefer your company over hers.” Clint shrugged but he looked a tiny bit guilty.

“Clint, please...” 

“Okay,” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “After Rosa's death I've promised myself that I'll never hunt witches anymore and now... now I'm here and I'm going to do that bullshit again.”

“Is it bullshit? I mean, after all what you and Gretel told us those witches are dangerous.” Steve stopped and turned to face Clint. He saw a lot of emotions on his face and then Clint raised one brow for a second and bit his lip. 

“That's the problem. It _is_ dangerous. I mean, in all the years we lost lots of people... well, and a troll.” 

“What's that with the troll all the time?” Steve huffed now frustrated and Clint shrugged.

“His name was Edward and... I guess he was a tiny bit in love with Gretel. He followed her wherever she went. But that's not the problem. People wanted to help us and we lost a lot of them. Mina, Edward, Ben, Rosa, Walter, Gerrit, others... they tried to do the thing we do and they got hurt, died. And now? Now you are here, too. We, Gretel and me, we're immune to witchcraft but you are not. What if they hurt you? What if they kill you?” 

“I'm pretty resilient, you know?” Steve smiled reassuringly and cupped Clint's cheek with one hand while he wrapped the other around Clint's waist.

“Maybe you are. But what about Tasha? Tony? Bruce? Pepper?... Steve... this is different. I mean, really... I... I don't want to lose you. Any of you and...” Clint closed the gap between the two of them and pressed his forehead against Steve's. “I don't want this anymore.” 

“One last time, Clint. We all have promised to protect the people. These people here don't stand a chance and you know it. Do you really want them to get harmed? They are there to have a good time and not to get killed.”

“God, I know that. And I hate it. They are so careless. They know about the Brocken and the witches and...”

“... no one believes in witches anymore. You've said that. And that's why we need to protect them. And by the way, the 'free their god' thing doesn't sound too desirable and that's our job anyway, right?” Steve smiled, his hands still on Clint's waist and he pulled him even closer before he touched his lips with his. 

“Okay. Let's get the weapons.” Clint finally sighed and stepped back, reluctantly. Steve nodded and kissed him again.

 

 

Together they walked through the woods and after a few minutes Clint took Steve's hand. He could feel the super soldier smile and that was really strange. They didn't have to walk too far and Clint saw the house. It looked even more dilapidated than last time. But suddenly Steve let go of his hand. Clint turned to see Steve look around confused.

“Clint?” he asked and now Clint was confused.

“Steve, what...”

“I have no idea what you've done but where _are_ you?” he looked around as if he could not see him.

“Uhm... I'm right in front of you.” He went back a few steps and suddenly Steve's expression changed.

“What was that?” Steve asked and Clint shrugged.

“I don't know. I guess Gretel found a way to shield the house. Give me your hand.” Clint held his hand out and Steve took it, still perplexed. This time, when they walked along, Steve could follow him. And then he stopped again.

“Oh my god, Clint... is that...” he stared at the ramshackle hut. Clint nodded.

“Yes, that's the house I've been born in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. But my favorite soccer team was relegated from the Bundesliga and... well... I've been a little bit frustrated.


	7. Chapter 7

Clint opened the door. The _house_ was in an even worse condition than the last time he had seen it. That was seventy years ago, he had to admit, but Gretel hadn't done anything since he had left. He sighed and looked over his shoulder at the barn and its destroyed roof. Steve stood behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It's...” he stopped. Clint couldn't repress a smile. He knew that Steve was too polite to speak badly of it and he had no suitable words to say something nice. 

“I know. Well, it's older than me,” he deadpanned and touched Steve's hand for a second. But then he sighed again. “Okay, let's get the stuff.” 

Steve looked around and saw the one door in the room. When he glanced at Clint he shrugged.

“You can look around. Go wherever you want,” he gestured at the door and smiled. Steve nodded carefully and stepped into the house. “But be careful. It's not really safe. You know.” He pointed and some of the planks in front of Steve. “They are old.” 

“I know. Older than me and you,” Steve grinned and walked around the sorry remains of the table. Clint went to the former hole in the floor. He and Gretel had built in a trapdoor and he unlocked it. She had given him the keys before they had left the quinjet. The lock was new. Better than the one Walter had built years ago. He heard Steve open the door to the room he had shared with Gretel. 

“This was your room?” he asked and Clint nodded.

“Yep. The bed on the left was mine,” he looked up and sat back on his feet. Steve turned around.

“Do you miss them?” He asked and Clint cocked his head. “Your parents.” 

“No. Not really. Me and Gretel, we've been angry at them for a very long time. And then, when we had learned that they had done what they had done to save us it was too late. We were used to rely only on us.” 

“That's sad, Clint.” 

“I'm okay, Steve. Believe me,” Clint said. Steve nodded and came over to him. 

“Okay. Let's get those weapons to the others.” He reached down to grab the handle of the first of the three crates and Steve hunkered down to help him. When they had all of them on the floor Clint opened the first one and then a smile appeared on his face. 

“Oh yeah,” he said and took one of the weapons, a nasty looking thing.

“What is that?” Steve stared baffled and Clint gave it to him.

“That? That's Marie, my first love.” He chuckled. 

“That's... that's a big thing.” Steve held the rifle and raised a brow.

“They can build smaller weapons nowadays with better impact but when I got her she was high tech.”

“What the hell is that?” Steve had put the rifle away and had Gretel's double crossbow in his hand. Clint chuckled again and took the crossbow. He unlocked a bolt and the two bows turned to the sides.

“Wow!” Steve blurted out and Clint chuckled again. 

“Yeah. We had some really nasty stuff. But in our defense, witches aren't easy to kill.” Steve looked into the open crate and took another gun. 

“Here's the bolt,” Clint pointed at it and it unfolded to a rifle. “That... that was Ben's favorite.” He said and Steve swallowed.

“Who's Ben?” he asked and Clint sighed.

“Ben... Benjamin. He was... he lived here in Augsburg the time we fought against Muriel. He was one of our first fans. He collected everything about us. A little bit like Coulson. He helped us for quite some time but then... a witch killed him. It wasn't nice. She ripped off his head and I mean that literally. He was so young and...” Clint stopped and put the gun he held in his hands away. “Fuck!”

Steve came over to him and put his arm around him. 

“It's okay,” he held him and Clint placed his forehead against his shoulder, let him embrace him. 

“God, all this... this crap. It was so bad, Steve. I mean, I know that we're still in danger because of those bitches but... I've seen so many people die in a really horrible way. Good people. I... I can't do that anymore. I don't want it anymore.” He wiped over his face. “I mean, I've done a lot of things in my life, for SHIELD. But this? This is different. This is going to be ugly.” 

“One last time.” Steve said and cupped his face. He carefully kissed him, slow and sensual and he felt Clint melt into the kiss. 

“Okay. I hate it, but okay. One last time.” 

“That's what we do, Clint. We protect people.” Steve said and kissed Clint's forehead.

“Right. But I don' have to like it.” 

“When all this is over, will you talk to me?” Steve asked and Clint nodded.

“Yeah. Assuming that we survive.”


	8. Chapter 8

“You should talk to him,” Gretel said and looked up from the map in front of her. Pepper pressed her lips tight together and turned her head away. “He doesn't seem to take this whole magic-witchcraft-stuff too well.” 

“I know.” Pepper put the pen aside and leaned back. “I know, god, I know. But that's the problem. He doesn't take it too well.” 

“Do you really think it's getting better when you wait? When he finds out by accident?” She looked over to the other table where Thor, Tony, Bruce and Natasha sat and drank coffee and ate a few sandwiches. “I mean, it's suspicious enough that you accompanied us.” 

“I...” Pepper started, pinched the bridge of her nose and then she nodded. She grabbed the two empty mugs and went over to the team to refill the mugs, poured milk into one of them and sugar into the other and came back. She handed the mug with the sugar to Gretel and took a sip from her own coffee. Inwardly she sighed because she could feel Tony's eyes on her and she felt bad for lying to him for so long but there wasn't a reason to tell him. Till now. “I will talk to him. Tonight.” 

“I won't hurry you. But we need your service when Hansel comes back with the weapons.” Gretel toyed with the ruler she had in her hand and leaned back as well.

“I don't want to lose him.” Pepper said very quietly and took another sip of her coffee.

“You think he would dump you? Because you're a white witch? Hell, even Hansel could accept it and fell in love with two of them. Mina and Rosa. And he hated witches even more than you can imagine. Your Tony seems to be a decent guy. He wouldn't dump you for being a witch but I'm pretty sure he would do it for not telling the truth.” 

“Yeah, guess you're right.” Pepper nodded and Gretel grinned. 

“Believe me. I'm an old and wise woman,” she chuckled and Pepper couldn't resist to smile as well. But then Gretel pointed at the others and Pepper looked over her shoulder to see Tony leave the tavern with a strange look in their direction. Pepper put her mug down and followed Tony to find him apparently waiting for her.

“I guess we need to talk,” he said as soon as she was within earshot. Pepper nodded and gestured at one of the garden benches nearby and they both sat down. Tony stared at a tree for a few seconds before he looked at Pepper.

“You're a witch, right?” he asked. Pepper swallowed but she should've known it. Tony was a genius after all. She nodded.

“Yes. But...” 

“You're not one of the evil ones. Clint... Hansel... whatever. He told us the evil ones are ugly and you... you're not.” Tony's voice was unusually quiet.

“No. Tony, I'm sorry. I should've told you. But... it never mattered. I mean, I was just... just Pepper.” 

“I understand, Pep. I really do. But you could've trusted me. Do you really think I would've thought different of you?” Tony took her hand and Pepper felt guilty now. 

“No, god, no. But I love you and I've... I've thought...” 

“You've thought I wouldn't believe you and leave you.” Tony interrupted her and wiped over his mouth with his hand. It wasn't a question.

“I don't know what I've thought, Tony. But you know better than anyone that there are secrets no one should know about.” Pepper squeezed Tony's hand and he stroked her with his thumb. “I'm sorry.” 

“So... that's why you're here with us?” Tony cocked his head, an unreadable expression on his face and that was really strange because usually Pepper could read Tony like an open book. Tony wasn't open with his emotions and thoughts but he could never hide anything from her. And now? Now she had no idea what he thought or felt.

“Gretel asked me. She said they needed the help of a white witch.” 

“I've thought as the daughter of a witch she's one herself?” Tony asked but this time he didn't look at her. She could see him grit his teeth and she knew that this was almost too much for him.

“Tony, please.” She put her hand on his face and turned it so that he had to look at her. 

“God, this is... this is so awful.” He finally admitted and Pepper wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close to her. 

“I'm sorry, really, Tony. I'm sorry. But now we have to fight against these evil witches. And we need you. If you want to get rid of me afterwards then I'll go.”

“I don't want you to leave,” Tony murmured. “Help me to understand all this. I mean, you're a witch, for fuck's sake! How... why... I mean... why did I not notice anything?” 

“Because I didn't do anything. Well, at least nothing too obvious.” She admitted and when his head snapped up she raised both hands in a defensive gesture. 

“Did you do something to me?” His voice got loud and he moved back a few inches. “Did you... did you bewitch me?” 

“Tony, keep calm. I... whenever you were on a business trip I've cast a protection spell on you. That was, what saved you in Afghanistan, I think. I'm sorry that it wasn't enough to keep all the shrapnels away but at least you're alive. This bomb, it would've killed you like all the others in your car. Tony, whatever I've done... I did it to help you because I love you. I've always loved you. And I swear that was everything. Only the protection spell. Nothing else.” 

“Are you... are you like them? Like Clint and his sister? Do you age?” Tony wanted to know and she shook her head. 

“No, I'm different. Their mother was a grand white witch and she cast a spell on them. Mine was _just_ an ordinary white witch and I can't do it myself. So, I'm just a human, well... sort of.”

“But why do they need your help when their mom was a... a... grand witch?” 

“It's complicated. I've talked to Gretel, Tony. It's... witchcraft is a skill that needs practice. Gretel never used it but I did.” Pepper admitted and Tony's glance darkened. “I've never used it to harm anyone, Tony,” she added hastily.

“Okay.” He nodded and looked away again. She could sense that he was hurt. 

“Tony, I'm sorry, honestly.” 

“No. No, you... you don't have to be sorry, Pep. I mean... you're right. We all have our secrets.” He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to face her. He cupped her face and smiled. “I guess I need to thank you... for...” he gestured at his chest. “... for being alive.” 

“You don't have to thank me. I've told you, I love you.” She swallowed when she saw him lick over his lips. He still wasn't reassured but he nodded again. 

“Okay. Let's kill those witches. And then...” he stopped, sighed and then he smiled. “I love you, Pep. I love you.”


	9. Chapter 9

Thor and Bruce were on their way up the Brocken to have a look at the location when they heard someone scream. Thor looked at Bruce and then he ran in the direction where the noise came from. Bruce followed him immediately. The woods around them weren't as thick and so he could follow the Asgardian easily and only after a few seconds they found the source of the scream. Or rather the remains. A man lay on the ground, his throat slit and apparently someone had ripped out his heart. Beside the man was a woman, pale as a sheet and she held his hand and screamed something Bruce didn't understand. But Thor didn't have the same problem, he talked to her while Bruce called Gretel. She said she would come as fast as possible and the two of them should stay with the body. And if possible they should prevent that the woman called the police. She would take care of everything. When he finished the call Thor looked at him, a line of worry between his brows.

“She said a few women appeared and attacked them. She described them and... she said the women were really ugly and deformed.” 

“That's one of the symptoms Clint had described.” 

“Yes. We will wait for Lady Gretel and discuss our next steps.” Thor said. 

“Can you try to calm her? And tell her not to call the cops.” Bruce pointed at the woman, still holding the man's hand, crying and rocking on her knees. Thor nodded and hunkered down beside her and talked to her. Bruce went a few steps back and looked around if he could see something suspicious but there were only trees around them. The street up to the top wasn't too far away and he heard cars and then it hit him. He only heard the cars but no other sounds. No birds, no animals, no insects, no nothing. Just Thor talking to the woman, her crying and the cars. It was too quiet. 

“Thor! They are still here!” Bruce screamed and spun around when he suddenly heard a crack behind him. And then he thought he just lost his mind. Three women were appearing, slow, threateningly, and it was a gruesome sight. When they realized that Bruce saw them they sped up. One of them seemed really crippled, so to speak, but that didn't slow her down. She ran up to them on hands and feet, hissing, her two companions following her. The second one could run on her own feet but the third moved in an odd way, it seemed as if she was floating. All three women were ugly as hell, one had green, snake like hair, the floating one's face was cluttered with warts, and the skin of the third was red with swollen blood vessels. 

“Odin's beard,” Thor gasped and in an instant Mjölnir appeared in his hand. “Bring the woman to safety,” he ordered and Bruce went over to her. She yelled something, pointed at the dead man on the ground but Bruce grabbed her arm to drag her away. Thor was ready to defend them when he got hit by something, that looked like some sort of blue-greenish lightning. He screamed. 

“Come on,” Bruce ran in the other direction, to get the woman out of the way when the two got stopped by more deformed women. One of them said something Bruce didn't understand but considering the woman's reaction it was something bad. He turned to run in another direction, still not ready to let the _other guy_ out when he heard Thor scream again, clearly in pain. 

Bruce tried to outmaneuver the witches but more and more of them appeared. But then they heard the sound of a motorcycle speeding in their direction. Slithering it came to a halt and the driver – he couldn't see their face because of the helmet – went down on one knee, aimed a big and evil looking rifle onto one of the woman and shot. The witch's head exploded and the other witches yelled something, turned, and attacked the driver. Bruce grabbed the woman's arm again and dragged her away. It was getting darker and then he heard lightning. Mjölnir, he knew that effect. The motorcycle rider shot a few more times and he could hear the witches, yelling, screaming, hissing, dying, attacking but he didn't stop. He had to get the woman to safety and he knew that, if he would let out the _other guy_ , he would make a mess, not only with the witches. There were other people here and he couldn't risk endangering them.   
“Stop!” The woman yelled and Bruce stopped. They arrived at the street and a gray SUV stopped with screeching tires, one door opened and he heard Pepper's voice.

“Get in!” she yelled and Bruce reacted immediately, shoved the woman in and slammed the door shut. 

“Get her out, I go back!” 

“Bruce!” He heard Pepper's voice but he had already turned and ran back the way he came. He just hoped that Thor and the motorcycle rider, Gretel he assumed, could kill the witches and were unharmed. The closer he came to the site where they were attacked he could hear noises of a fight, saw the lightning from Mjölnir and he heard Iron Man's repulsors between gun shots, screaming, and other, indefinable sounds. Bruce sped up, his heart hammered in his chest and he felt the _other guy_ screaming to let him out, to help his friends. 

_Not yet!_ he thought and then it got quiet. Bruce burst through shrubberies only to find Tony, Thor and Gretel, heavily breathing, in the midst of dead bodies. They all were covered in blood and goo but they were alive and mostly unharmed. Thor stared incredulously at a deep gash on his arm and a burn on his chest where his armor was damaged. 

“Thank god, you're all alive,” he breathed when he saw them and Tony opened the faceplate of his suit.

“The woman?” He asked and Bruce pointed with his head. 

“She's with Pepper, they are safe.” 

Tony nodded and Bruce came closer, looked down at the dead witches on the ground. “Oh my god,” he muttered when he saw the deformations on the witches' bodies and Gretel came closer to him. 

“The effects of black witchcraft,” she said and hunkered down, still breathing hard. 

“Why do they do that when they know what will happen?” Tony asked quietly and stared at the dead witches.

“Power,” was the only thing Gretel said and all of them understood. It was tempting to use such abilities to get more power and those women were willing to pay the price. 

“What are we doing with them?” Thor asked and held the gash on his arm close with one hand. Bruce would have a look at it. Later. 

“I know someone to call,” Gretel said. “They will be burned, just to be certain. But not now. They know that we're here and as soon as Hän... Clint is back with our weapons we should get ready.” 

“Okay,” Tony nodded slowly but he couldn't avert his eyes, studied the distorted witches and swallowed.

“You okay, Tony?” Bruce asked and the genius looked up and after a long moment he finally nodded. 

“Yeah. Let's get back. Cap and Feathers should be here by now.” He rose. “We have to make a plan.” 

“Feathers?” Gretel frowned and looked at Bruce and Thor.

“Clint's codename is Hawkeye. Hawk, feathers. You get used to the bird puns after some time,” Bruce shrugged with a smile. 

“O-kay.” Gretel shook her head with a tiny smirk on her lips. But then she sighed. “Tony's right. We need to talk about our plan but we can't leave them here visibly. Let's cover them and then we take care of the rest of them. But we don't have much time. It's getting dark and they will probably attack by night.” 

“Why not right now?” Thor asked. The gash on his arm still bled and Bruce was sure he needed a few stitches. 

“They are stronger at night.” Gretel said and then she grabbed the arm of one of the dead witches and dragged her over to where three of them already lay in a heap. “A little help?” She looked at Tony and Bruce and both men hurried to help her. It was gross and when they had all of them together Gretel went to her motorcycle, a Husqvarna enduro, and fetched a camouflage net, threw it over the bodies and threw a few handful of leaves onto them, too. 

“Okay, let's go back,” she finally said and the three men nodded and followed her.


	10. Chapter 10

Clint landed the quinjet outside of the tavern they used as their improvised headquarters. Steve went into the back and grabbed the first crate with weapons and carried them to the door. When he opened it with his shoulder and carried it into the side room but only Pepper and an unknown woman were there. He stopped, frowned, but when he sensed Clint with another crate behind him he made another step into the room and placed his crate onto the floor. 

“Hey,” he said and looked around. Clint put his crate beside the other one. “Where are the others?” he asked and Pepper rose and came over to them. 

“Thor and Bruce wanted to take a look at the location but then they got attacked. Tony and Gretel are there to help them.” 

“Who's she? And where's Nat?” Clint asked warily.

“Her husband was killed by witches and I brought her back. And Natasha wanted to take another route up to the Hexentanzplatz,” Pepper explained. 

“Are they okay or...” Clint started, looking worriedly at Steve.

“No, they killed the witches as far as I know, they just want to hide them and then come back,” she said and Steve nodded. Clint was worried, Steve could see that, but he nevertheless went out to fetch the next crate. When he came back, Bruce and Thor were with him. Both carried some of the stuff into the room and placed it at the pile and then they sat down. 

“Report?” Steve asked and Bruce removed his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He just opened his mouth, when the door went open again and Gretel entered as well. She nodded in Clint's direction and Steve couldn't hide the frown. 

“Everything all right?” Clint asked and Gretel nodded. 

“Martin will take care of them,” she said. “He's... well... sort of a cleaner,” she added when all of the others shared confused glances. “He's an undertaker and he knows how to dispose of their bodies.” 

“Okay,” Bruce pursed his lips and put on his glasses. 

“Natasha wants to take a look at the Hexentanzplatz and Tony is with her. But there's a concert this night and they already built up the stage... I'm not sure if they can get close enough,” Gretel said and Clint's lips turned to a smirk.

“She's a spy, Gretel. She's the best, believe me. If someone can get in, it's Nat,” he grinned. 

“That's true,” Steve confirmed and slowly the other remaining Avengers nodded as well. 

“Okay,” Gretel said and then she realized, that the woman was still here. “Pepper?” she said and the red-head raised a brow. 

“What? No... no, I won't harm people,” she shook her head and Gretel raised one hand.

“No, just... sleep?” 

Pepper glared angrily for a long moment but then she turned to the woman and sighed. When she opened her mouth to complain, Pepper put a hand on her cheek and the other on her forehead and only a few seconds later her body relaxed and she leaned back. 

“Why did you do that?” Thor rose and hurried over to Pepper and the sleeping woman. 

“It's better she doesn't know too much,” Gretel shrugged and Clint shook his head disapprovingly. “We need to form a plan and...” 

“Are you sure that they will be there this night?” Steve asked. “I mean, I'm pretty sure that they know by now that we're here and...” 

“It's the only night for a long time, Steve. And it's the only place where they can perform their ritual. It's necessary that they do it here and they _will_ try it, believe me.” 

“If it were me I would attack us right now and right here,” Thor said and sat down again, this time beside Pepper and he gestured with his hand around this tavern.

“Yes, because you are a warrior and strategist,” Clint threw in. “But they are witches, Thor. They don't act rationally. And by the way, would you attack in bright daylight in the middle of this place if you want to stay unrecognized?” 

Thor just opened his mouth again to complain when the door went open again and Natasha and Tony strode in. 

“Hey,” Nat greeted and flopped down on a chair. Tony looked around before he took the seat beside Clint. Steve could see the flicker of hurt in Pepper's eyes but they didn't have time for that now. The two had to sort out their problems later. Right now it was important to fight against the witches and to protect the people. 

“All right,” Natasha said when she sensed the tense situation. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I've organized a map... well, if you want to call it map. It's a site plan,” she said and unfolded it and placed it on one of the tables. “That's the location,” she said and Gretel and Clint looked over her shoulders. Clint pointed at a spot, not far away from where they built up the stage. 

“And that's the place where they have to perform their ritual,” he said. He knew that, he'd been here once, many, many years ago.

“Okay,” Steve said and leaned over the site plan, too. “We need to plan what we're going to do tonight. Gretel, you're the expert here. What are the witches going to do?” He asked and only a few seconds later all the Avengers, Pepper and Gretel put their heads together and talked about their plan. Clint couldn't help himself, it was a little bit as it used to be and he smiled at his sister. And Gretel smiled back knowingly.


	11. Chapter 11

They were wrong. Later, when everything they needed for the night was prepared and they decided to rest for a few hours, the witches came. They blended in a group of visitors, dressed as witches and demons and Thor, who said he would keep watch, didn't see them immediately. Only when three of them came over to him and they moved strangely he sensed, that something was wrong but at this moment they already had their wands and attacked him. The other 'witches' ran away screaming and in panic when Thor grabbed Mjölnir and called for the rest of the team. A spell hit him right in the chest and he went down, screaming, when excruciating pain surged through his body. One of the witches, an ugly woman with bowlegs, a huge nose and exfoliating, gray skin, had aimed at him and yelled something, that he couldn't understand, even with Allspeak. But his knees gave in and he went down, screaming. And that alarmed the rest of the team. 

Thor grabbed Mjölnir's handle and aimed at the witch and while still in pain he shot his lightning at her and she screamed, too. Steve was the first to arrive with Clint right behind him and Natasha came only a few seconds later. Steve had his shield with him and he threw it at the witch who just had shocked Thor. The other two witches attacked Natasha and Clint and both drew guns and started to shoot at them. Gretel, Tony and Bruce came out of the tavern and it didn't take long and they had defeated the witches. Steve said, he would talk to the now arriving police officers. People had called them as soon as they saw the Avengers fight against the witches. 

Bruce was the first to go back into the tavern but then Clint, Gretel and Natasha hurried in when they heard him scream for them. 

“What?” Natasha asked when they came into the room where they had their stuff. One of the windows was open, shards of glass on the floor, a table and a few of the chairs knocked over and blood on the window frame. And Pepper and the woman they had saved were gone.

“Where's Pepper?” Tony, who had heard Bruce's scream as well, asked as soon as he entered the room. 

Natasha was already at the window and looked out but she could only see a few girls staring frightened at her and her guns. She climbed out of the window, put her guns away and went to the girls to talk to them.

“I have no idea,” Clint said. “We all were in front of the building to help Thor.” 

Gretel looked around at the floor and then she paled. 

“Das Buch ist weg!” she blurted and when she realized, that only Clint could understand her, she repeated in English, “The book. It's gone, too,” she said. 

“They have her,” Natasha came back but she didn't climb in, she stayed outside and Tony's head snapped around. “The girls said, when the trouble started in front of the door, a dark haired woman opened the window and dragged out a red-haired woman, Pepper. Two more women waited outside and they took Pepper with them. She was tied and... they said, the women didn't look okay, as if they were hurt or crippled or something like that,” she said and Tony wanted to leave immediately. 

“I have to find her, she needs me,” he said when Bruce grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“You can't help her now, Tony,” he said.

“Bruce is right, we don't know where they are,” Natasha put a hand on his chest, too. “But we know where they are in a few hours,” she added then. 

“Okay, we have...” Steve said when he came in and stopped, when he saw the chaos. Thor, who followed him, bumped into him but when Steve stepped aside the Asgardian took a seat at one of the benches and leaned his head back. He still wasn't up to the mark and he closed his eyes for a few moments. 

“Pepper,” Tony yelled. “The witches have Pepper.” 

“It seems, as if our victim was not a victim. It seems as if she was involved. And the attack was a trap,” Clint explained and Steve paled. 

“That's...” he said and when he saw, that Tony wanted to leave again, he grabbed his arm. “Wait, Tony. You can't just run out and search for her.” 

“What? Are all of you crazy now? What if they hurt her? Or worse? I need to find her,” Tony insisted and wanted to get out of the room. 

“They won't,” Gretel said. “They... they need her,” she added, her voice really quiet.

“You knew that? You asked her to accompany us and you knew, that they would want to get her?” Tony placed himself in front of Gretel now and both, Steve and Clint, went to him and pulled him back. 

“Tony, calm down, we...” Clint started but the other man shook his head. 

“She knew that they would need a white witch, but not that they would identify Pepper as one,” Clint added. 

“We find her,” Steve said and Bruce, Natasha and Gretel nodded. 

“And we kill all of them,” Gretel said, her voice determined.

“If they harm her,” Tony pointed threateningly at Gretel, “I swear to god...” 

“Tony, it's okay now. We find her and we free her and we kill all the witches and now we need to reshape our plan. We don't know how much the witch heard. Can you collect yourself and concentrate on that task now?” Steve had grabbed Tony's arm and turned him away from Gretel. 

“Yeah,” Tony spat and made a few steps back. And when his eyes fell on Clint, he shook his head. “I don't like your sister,” he said. Clint pressed his lips together for a second. 

“Do you understand now why I'm no longer in the family business?” He snorted. 

“Let us not waste more time. We need to redo our plans and we have not much time left,” Thor finally rose and seemed as determined as Gretel. 

“Okay, back to work,” Tony said and all of the Avengers started to collect the stuff from the floor and put it on the table. And then they started to form a new plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Walpurgis night in Schierke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeWeRTwIdGw)   
>  [Hexentanzplatz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HscqLnl-_iU)


	12. Chapter 12

“Can you see anything, Hawkeye?” Steve asked into his comms and looked around the area himself. Clint, who found a spot in the rafters of the stage, – no one asked how he managed to even get there – answered after a few seconsds.

“No, Cap. Nothing so far. Only partying people,” he said and huffed frustrated.

“The problem is that they blend in perfectly,” Gretel added and she sounded as frustrated as Clint. 

Steve looked around once more but they were right. Lots of people wore still costumes and the blinking devil's horns were as distracting as the laser show was. On a platform beside the main stage a man in a devil's costume with a top hat delivered a spooky speech to the visitors, who cheered and hooted. And on the main stage the musicians waited to get started, when the speech was over. 

“Dammit,” Tony cursed and Steve didn't stop him this time. He knew that the genius was under stress because he worried about Pepper. “Where are they?” He muttered. 

“Nothing so far,” Natasha chipped in. 

“They'll come,” Gretel said. “They need to because right here is the place where it has to happen.” 

In the meantime the first band had started to play. It was a German medieval-rock band and they were really good, Steve had to admit. They had fire-breathers on stage, too, and the people seemed to know them. Most of them sang along and danced and had a good time. 

The Avengers tried to blend in but surprisingly Thor was the most inconspicuous of all of them. With his seemingly medieval attire he matched lots of the visitors and only the fact, that he carried a huge hammer with him, stood out. Nothing happened as long as the band played and all of them got anxious. What if they were wrong? What if the witches didn't come here? What if they had already killed Pepper? What if there was another place, where they could hold their ritual? 

When the band left the stage and the man in the devil's costume on his platform addressed the people again there was movement in the crowd. People moved to the sides and some sort of parade came into the middle, accompanied by musicians. 

Steve paled immediately. He knew that this was it, they came. But the visitors thought it was part of the show and they cheered even more. 

“Fuck!” Gretel cursed and Steve could see that Tony shoved himself closer to the _parade_ as far as possible, surrounded by all the people. 

“These bastards have the crust to bring her with them,” Clint muttered. “They have Pepper with them, do you copy?” 

“Copy that,” Tony answered, his voice strained. 

“Tony, you stick to the plan, do you understand me?” Steve added immediately. 

“Yes, yes,” Tony reluctantly answered but they all heard, that he needed all of his self-control to not run into their middle and to try to get Pepper out of their clutches. 

“They have the book,” Gretel said and now Steve could see the _parade_ arrive. The visitors still cheered around him and clapped their hands and whistled. In front of the parade was a woman Steve recognized immediately. It was the one they had 'rescued' but now they saw her real face. Her skin had a blueish touch with thick red veins deface it, her hair was tied back and she wore some sort of hat, not like the 'witches hats' people wore around him. It was more like a beanie, decorated with leaves and poisonous herbs and fungi and living spiders crawled around it. The robe she wore showed stitched signs and symbols and she held the book she had stolen from Gretel in her clutches. Behind her lots of other women, each one disfigured and _ugly_ , followed her and they had Pepper, tied and gagged, between them. They had dressed her in a blood red robe and she had a chain around her neck. 

“Bastards,” Tony muttered and Steve once more could hear the stress in Tony's voice. 

“Tony,” Clint said when the genius made a step in the direction of the parade. 

“I know, I know,” he snarled. Steve looked in his direction and he saw Thor shove himself through the people and to Tony. 

“God, we need to get rid of the people,” Gretel muttered. “They have no idea how much danger they are in.” 

“I know,” Steve said and moved closer to the still moving parade. He had his shield with him but it was covered by a cape they had bought at the medieval carnival in one of the small towns around here. But when he bumped into a few people they glared angrily at him. The man on his platform still chanted and gestured with his arms and the witches stopped. 

“What are they doing?” Thor asked now.

“We need to stop them immediately,” Clint said and Steve could finally see him, when he rose from his position. “And we need to get the people away from them!” 

“What is wrong?” Natasha asked now. 

“They are coming!” Clint yelled into his comm, drew an arrow with a grappling hook and shot it to the platform, where the man in the devil's costume stood and only a second later he skimmed over to him. Thor grabbed Mjölnir, Tony opened his suitcase and put on his suit, Natasha had one of the rifles Clint had given her in her hands, Gretel made her crossbow ready and Bruce stood in the back, in case they needed 'Code green'. Steve removed his cape and grabbed his shield and now the people around him started to murmur. 

“Get out,” Steve said quietly. “And take as many people with you as you can.” 

And now the people sensed, that something was really wrong. Lots and lots of women, each one uglier as the other, came onto the Hexentanzplatz. They heard screams now when panic set in. 

Clint grabbed the man's microphone now. “Raus hier! So schnell wie möglich!” he said and the people started to leave, they ran and Steve cursed silently. But there was no other way to get them out. He just hoped that no one got hurt in their panic. 

But it wasn't as easy to leave, since the witches hindered them. The witch with the book ran a stake into the ground and it started to shake as in an earthquake. She screamed something in an old language Steve didn't understand and reddish lightning spread from the pole beside her through their feet and to similar poles around the Hexentanzplatz and they were surrounded. People, who tried to leave the encircled area got shocked and fell to the ground unconscious. 

“You think you can stop us?” She yelled now and she looked at Gretel, who aimed her crossbow at her. 

“That's the plan,” Gretel said and shrugged but Steve saw, that she wasn't as relaxed as she appeared. 

“Get them!” the chief witch commanded and her sisters began to move in their directions. Clint nocked an arrow, aimed and shot at the witch in the middle of the crowd but the arrow bounced off of her robe. The chief witch laughed unearthly and that moment, the witches attacked them and the people on the Hexentanzplatz. A group of witches gathered around the pole and the chief witch and they started to chant and do _things_ Steve couldn't see right now. But they had Pepper with them and held her, cut her with a knife. The temperature dropped immediately and the red lightnings moved between the poles and then he heard Clint's voice in his comm unit. 

“It's a pentagram, Steve!” he screamed and once again he tried to shoot at the witch with the book, this time with the huge gun he had fetched together with Steve. The other Avengers and Gretel already fought against witches and Thor did a lot of damage with Mjölnir.

“You need to break it, Steve!” Gretel yelled and Steve, who just defended himself against three witches and their spells, looked in her direction for a second. He had no idea how he could break the pentagram. The earth started to rumple and a red glow appeared around the pole. Pepper screamed in agony when the witches cut her again and Tony yelled her name and tried to get to her, but he got shot down by a witch and he slammed into a group of visitors. 

“Steve,” he heard Bruce's voice.

“Stay calm, Bruce. We can't deal with Hulk right now,” Natasha chipped in and looked in his direction for a second. It was a mistake. Four witches attacked her and she went down. 

“Tasha!” Clint screamed and shot at every witch he could see and many of them died, but the group of witches in the middle were still untouchable. 

“The pentagram, Steve!” Gretel yelled again and gestured at the poles around the area. 

“The shield, use the shield,” Tony groaned and Steve jumped to push down a man with blinking horns on his head or he would be beheaded by now. The witch wielded a mean looking scythe and Steve turned to attack her with the shield. The scythe hit the shield, got diverted and hacked into the ground. And the witch screeched when Gretel shot a bolt into her head. 

“Take this!” she said and pushed one of the nasty looking guns in Steve's hand and he couldn't do more than nod. But maybe she was right, he could need it. “And now follow me,” she commanded and it was a strange feeling to follow orders. Usually he was the one who gave them. 

When he saw Clint go down he was torn between saving his lover and following Gretel. But it was more important now to stop the witches. If they would manage to free Urianus then they would have much bigger problems, but only for a few seconds till this demon would kill them. Thor had brought detailed descriptions of his nature. And Clint was pretty persistent and hard to kill. So, yes, stopping Urianus had priority. He had no idea what happened to the rest of the team right now as well and it worried him. 

To get to one of the lightnings around the area was more difficult as it sounded. The witches seemed to sense the danger and even more of them attacked him and Gretel. Steve had to shoot a few of them and it was ugly. But Gretel dragged him forward and when they finally arrived at the lighning Thor was there as well. He had seen them and came to help them. 

“Use your shield to deflect one of the lines,” Thor yelled and chopped of the head of a witch with one of Clint's and Gretel's swords. Steve nodded but it was harder than he thought. Thor saw him struggle with the shield and the lightnings and he put the sword aside and grabbed the other side of the shield. Gretel shot a witch who tried to jump on Thor's back and then the Asgardian nodded at Steve.

“We can do it,” he said and with all their strength they held the shield and forced it into the lines the lightnings drew. And they finally managed it. The red got reflected and Thor turned the shield and it hit the chief witch. She screamed like fury and combusted in an instant. But that didn't stop the lightnings. They became uncontrollable. And then Steve saw Clint again, saw him cut through the ties that held Pepper and he pressed the now heavily damaged book in her hands and yelled at her. Pepper nodded and started to read aloud.

The witches on the other hand realized, that their ritual got stopped and since the lightnings didn't hold back the people anymore, they tried to run away and Tony, Thor, Gretel, Natasha and Bruce tried to stop them. An especially evil looking witch attacked Steve and he raised his gun and shot and she burst like an overripe apple. It was really ugly. 

Pepper's voice got louder and louder and Clint stayed at her side and then she reached for the pole and ripped it out of the earth and suddenly the ground stopped to shake and the red glow disappeared and it got quiet. Well, sort of. He could still hear the visitors scream in panic and pain, they heard the hard breathing of his team mates and witches screeching when they died but only now Steve realized, that with the lightnings and the red glow an unearthly sound had been around them. 

And then Clint said over the comms, “We won.”


	13. Chapter 13

A few of the witches managed to escape but they got most of them. The traps, they had set outside of the area were really helpful, thanks to Clint and Gretel. The book was destroyed. Only a few pages were still intact and Clint just collected them. 

Bruce had called a few ambulances and together with the paramedics and doctors he treated the injured people. Natasha dealt with the police. They had agreed to tell them only part of the truth, it was better this way and she had already called SHIELD to tell them what had happened. Tony was out of his damaged suit and held Pepper in his arms. Bruce had patched her up but she wasn't in a good shape. She had lost lots of blood and had quite a few burn marks and lost a fingernail (the chief witch needed it for her ritual and had ripped it out). Thor was on his way to remove the traps so no one would get hurt in them. And Steve helped where he was needed. 

He just picked up one of the wands he found on the ground – its former owner dead nearby – when he sensed someone approaching and he rose and turned around to see Gretel come over to him. 

“Thanks,” she said when he gave her the wand and she looked at her fingers and then at Clint. “And for you help, too. I wouldn't've managed it alone.” 

“Yes, that's for sure,” he said and a small smile appeared on her face. “I've thought you were kidding, when you told us about the witches, but now that I've seen them...” 

“Yeah. That's why I stayed in _family business_. Someone has to do it,” she shrugged and looked over to Clint, who just picked something up from the ground and threw it with a disgusted expression on his face into one of the bags, Gretel had given him. Things that might be useful one day, she had said and Clint had sighed theatrically. 

“If you ever need help again...” Steve started and Gretel finished, with a small laugh, “I know whom I call then.” 

Steve nodded and looked around once more.

“So, you and my brother, huh?” she said then and Steve couldn't hold back a snort. 

“Is this supposed to be my shovel talk?” he asked and Gretel looked confused.

“Your what?” Maybe she wasn't familiar with this term and Steve smiled.

“You know, something like 'I have 30 acres of land and a shovel. No one will find your body if you hurt my brother'? No?” 

“God, no!” Gretel laughed and looked over at Clint. “He can defend himself pretty well.” She turned back to look at him, Steve. “You're good for him,” she said then. “I haven't seen him in a while but the last time... he was pretty self-destructive and I thought I would lose him. We had a fight, you know, and... it wasn't nice. But now,” she pursed her lips for a second. “You're good for him,” she repeated then and Steve understood. That moment Clint looked up and in their direction. He frowned for a moment but when Steve smiled, he smiled back and something warm bloomed in Steve's chest. 

“I love him,” Steve admitted and Gretel patted his arm. 

“I know. You wouldn't be able to hide it to save your life,” she smirked and Steve blushed violently. Clint threw something into his bag, a disgusted expression on his face, and then he tied it and walked over to them. 

“I think, I have everything,” he said as soon as he was within earshot and handed the bag to Gretel. She nodded thankfully. 

“Everything all right here?” he asked then and both, Steve and Gretel, confirmed it. 

“I just thanked him for helping me,” Gretel said and it wasn't a lie, Steve had to admit. It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie. 

“I'm sorry,” Clint said and took a deep breath and Gretel furrowed her brows, just the way Clint used to. They were twins, after all. 

“What for?” Gretel asked and Clint raised his brow.

“For leaving you alone with all this shit, of course,” he said and Steve almost had to laugh at his indignant expression. 

“Oh, that. Don't worry, it was really quiet in the last years. Hadn't that much to do,” she smiled. “Nowhere near as much as you,” she added then. 

“You know that?” Clint asked, his brows knitted and Gretel cocked her head. 

“Of course I know. You're my brother, I always kept an eye on you. I wanted to know you're okay, Hänsel,” she said then.

“Don't call me that,” Clint muttered and Gretel sighed.

“But that's your name. You will always be my little brother Hänsel,” she smiled. “Or do you prefer Johann?” 

“What?” Steve blurted and Clint blushed violently. 

“Hänsel is the diminutive,” Gretel said and Clint turned even more purple. 

“Yeah, I don't tell all the people around that your real name is Margarethe and...” 

“Children, children, enough, okay?” Steve interrupted them and both glared for a moment at each other and then finally huffed.

“Thanks for your help,” Gretel repeated and Clint nodded. 

“No problem, that's our job,” Clint said and Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

“So... uhm...” Gretel scratched the back of her neck and cocked her head. “I need to sort out this shit with the cops and...” 

“You don't come back with us?” Steve interrupted and Gretel shook her head. 

“No, I have my life here,” she said. “If you ever come to Salzburg, come visit me. I have my own hotel nowadays.” She laughed, when Clint's eyes went wide. “Like I've said, it's become quiet lately. Can't make a living out of killing witches anymore and so I bought this hotel.” 

“That's... that's good to hear,” Clint said and smiled. 

Thor, Tony and Pepper came over to them. 

“Hey,” Tony said as soon as he was within earshot and Gretel turned around.

“You okay?” she asked and looked at Pepper and the red-head nodded. 

“Yes, thank you. You stopped them and... just thank you,” she said and Gretel put a hand on her arm.

“I'm sorry for endangering you and so...” 

“I guess we're even,” she said and Tony put his arm around Pepper's shoulder, when she swayed a bit. 

“Yes,” Gretel nodded and the three of them went to one of the cars Tony had organized the day before. Natasha followed them and she waved in their direction. Gretel waved back with a smile on her face and all of them watched them drive away. Bruce came over to them now and Gretel took a deep breath.

“Okay,” she said and gestured vaguely in the police's direction. “I have some stuff to do. I guess, your director will sort out the shit with them, right?” 

“Yes, sure he will,” Steve nodded and Gretel hugged him. 

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Steve,” she said quietly before she moved back to hug Clint. “He's a keeper, little brother,” she whispered and Clint kissed her forehead when they separated. 

“I know,” he said and took Steve's hand. 

“I hope it won't be this long until we meet again,” she smiled and Bruce looked from her to Steve and Clint and back. 

“No, definitely not,” Steve said and Clint nodded. 

“When we have time, we'll visit you, okay? And you're always welcome to visit us, too,” he said and Gretel hugged him again. “I love you, sister.” 

“I love you, too.” 

Later, when they had all their stuff packed up and in the quinjet and Clint flew them back, the team sat in the back. Tony didn't leave Pepper's side all the time and apparently he had forgotten, that he was angry for not telling him, that she's a witch. Thor and Bruce napped, and Bruce leaned his head against Thor's shoulder but the Asgardian didn't seem to mind. Steve finally rose and went to the cockpit and when Natasha saw him, she left the co-pilot's seat and went to the back. 

“I think, you can take over for a few minutes, Cap,” she smirked. Steve nodded and sat down in the seat beside Clint. 

“We okay?” Clint asked but didn't move his eyes away from the controls. 

“Yes,” Steve said and reached over, put his hand on Clint's leg and squeezed it for a moment. “I can understand that you want to put this life behind,” he added.

“I lost so many people to witches, Steve,” he murmured and Steve shook his head. 

“I know now,” he nodded. They sat beside each other for a few minutes but then Steve turned to Clint and pursed his lips. 

“Maybe we can visit your sister one day,” he said and now Clint turned to look at him. 

“Yeah, I'd like that. Just you and me and a hotel room?” He grinned and Steve couldn't hold back a grin himself.

“I thought, that was our plan for a honeymoon?” Steve joked and Clint only shrugged. 

“Gretel said, you're a keeper. And I think she's right. I want to keep you, Steve. Forever,” he said and Steve raised his brow. 

“Are you asking me to marry you?” he asked and Clint shrugged again. 

“What would you say if I did?” 

“I'd say yes,” he smiled and Clint smiled as well. 

“And then, honeymoon in my sister's hotel. Just you and me and a bed and lots and lots of hot and steamy and filthy sex.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve leaned over, put his hand behind Clint's head and kissed him. “Did I tell you that I love you lately?” He asked and Clint shook his head.

“I love you, babe.” 

“I love you, too.” 

“Hey, if you don't concentrate on flying that bird you will crash us down and then there will be no honeymoon and no sex and no nothing, okay?” Tony yelled from behind and the two separated. But Clint once more looked in Steve's direction, just a second, and he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, finished... and it took me only a year :D  
> Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, thanks for kudos! And I hope you enjoyed it ;)

**Author's Note:**

> [asamandra on tumblr](http://asamandra.tumblr.com/)


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